Priceless

I happened to run into Ann this morning on the bus. We alighted at the same bus stop in town and ended up chatting for about an hour. Ann is unemployed again. No surprise there. She's going through the same wage slave cycle again, just as I predicted in the old "blog." The situation has worsened, however. She has no savings, and her 401(k) account was cashed out during her last bout of unemployment. She apparently has been on the sidelines for nearly six months, so her unemployment benefits are ending soon.

I really didn't know what to say. Ann is still renting the detached studio in Hawai'i Kai for $1,050 per month. She still has a couple of cats for pets. Her only recourse is to seek seasonal and temporary work, she told me. However, that's going to be a truly "hand to mouth" situation. And, because she was employed for half of the year, she doesn't qualify for welfare, subsidized health insurance, food vouchers, or other entitlements for the impoverished. I have a feeling that she's going to end up homeless.

In contemplating Ann's current plight, I find that I have a lot to be grateful for. I am certainly not making light of her situation. Nor am I unsympathetic. I am eternally grateful for my emancipation from wage slavery at the early age of 52 years. I was financially prepared for that event, fortunately, because I had some foresight about the degenerating work environment. I have been able to keep materialism in check, so money is not vanishing before my very eyes. I have Also been able to secure a good health insurance entitlement plan, albeit from an unexpected hospital visit. All in all, I lead a fairly good and leisurely life-style. In other words, I am actually able to enjoy a bit of freedom during the last of my "good years." All of that is truly priceless to me.